prison labor in organic ag

Anita Graf (agraf@agecon.uga.edu)
Fri, 12 Mar 1999 15:55:25 EST5EDT

Hi Loren,
I just had to tell you that I think you were really harsh on the
person who proposed prison labor for organic farms. He/she might have
been totally off base for the reasons you mentioned, but I fully
believe that his/her intentions were good and didnt' deserve such a
cyber bashing. Maybe prison labor shouldn't be "farmed" out to
commercial operations, but surly the plight of prisoners is a sorry
one (and those of all the rest of us who then have to live with
criminals who come out of prisons even worse than when they entered)
and seeking solutions to this should be applauded, even if those
solutions need some tweeking. I almost never hear anyone proposing
anything constructive and regenerative for prisoners to do; all I ever
see on tv are people wanting to "lock 'em up forever and throw away
the key." Personally, I think there's enough work to go around for
all and prisoners just like immigrants aren't ever going to be in a
position to swipe all those good paying jobs from the rest of us. I
would rather see prisoners working on something constructive than just
honing their criminal skills and deepening their anger and violence
toward themselves and the rest of us (either we're "paying" their
salaries). So, please, stop screaming and overreacting to one
person's vision of a viable solution.

> Date: Fri, 12 Mar 1999 12:41:47 -0800
> From: Loren Muldowney <loscott@envsci.rutgers.EDU>
> Subject: Re: Organic Farming Economics
>
> > I've surmised that organic agriculture is so expensive because
> > the labor is so expensive. There is a free labor source waiting to be
> > tapped--prisons.
>
> This is probably a joke. I hope so. If I believed it could be sincere,
> I would respond with the following:
>
> - -------------------------------------
>
> I may never stop screaming.
>
> I specifically boycott all goods made by prison labor, since it is
> exploitative of not only of prisoners, but more importantly of those
> working people who have NOT turned to crime as a lifestyle.
>
> The organic agriculture paradigm was created by shunning short-term
> economic theory. I don't think this will ever fly, if the consumers
> know about it; it would have to be kept from them intentionally. Since
> the point of organic marketing is to make full information available to
> the consumer, this lovely scenario would be better pursued in the
> "conventional" agriculture sphere. I just heard they are cutting the
> tails off of dairy cows for "economic" reasons, so probably they
> wouldn't bat an eye at this suggestion either.
>
> Not only that, but some our more sleazy mall stores have been using the
> "made in america" marketing, which appeals to those who deliberately
> support working non-criminal fellow citizens, to label goods made by
> prisoners as "made in america." It is a "solution" which "works" right
> at this moment, because many people are simply unaware that it is going
> on. Most people currently believe it to be illegal, being so clearly
> repugnant a concept.
>
> I can't wait to post this incredible suggestion at the natural foods
> coop and see everybody mobilize for the boycott.
>

Anita Graf
313-F Conner Hall
Dept. of Agricultural and Applied Economics
University of Georgia
Athens, GA 30602-7509
(706) 542-1915 phone
(706) 542-0739 fax
agraf@agecon.uga.edu

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